


people like you/people like me

by fireflyslove



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Fix-It, Gen, No editing we die like mne, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), infinity war fix it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-11
Updated: 2019-03-11
Packaged: 2019-11-15 11:48:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18072863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fireflyslove/pseuds/fireflyslove
Summary: Tony tries to mansplain how to best defeat Thanos. Carol, Shuri, and Nebula are having none of it.





	people like you/people like me

**Author's Note:**

> This is literally because I needed Tony Stank trying to mansplain something to Carol and Nebula and them having none of it. 
> 
> Or, a late-stage IW fix it six weeks before Endgame that's kind of a spruced up Tumblr post.

Being propelled through space by an invisible high speed force wasn’t out of the ordinary, but it was when the ship was out of fuel. Nebula wasn’t certain exactly how she and the human Stark had come to be on Earth, but neither of them was dead. (Although she had, more than once in the past few days, more than idly considered putting an end to the incessant chatter and giving herself a food source in the process.)

Instead they were on solid ground, with air and water and food, and she could finally get away from just the sheer… proximity. She had immediately retreated to the sanctuary of a dark corner with the first food she could find, and glared at everyone who came within ten feet of her. She’d almost hissed at a small child who came to offer her water, but her better angels had won out for at least a moment, and she hadn't  _ quite  _ sent him scampering away. 

Nebula was vaguely aware that she wasn’t the only alien being on this planet, but the Asgardian held little interest for her, and Rocket spent most of his time hiding in dark corners similar to Nebula’s. So when, between one blink and the next, a woman appeared in front of her, Nebula nearly jumped out of her skin. 

“Who are you?” the woman, ostensibly human, asked.

“Nebula,” Nebula said.

“Fair enough,” the woman replied, and then vanished as easily as she had appeared. Nebula wasn’t entirely certain she hadn’t hallucinated the woman.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of a different woman, this one younger. She came into Nebula’s proximity the normal way, by walking. “I hear you might know something about how Thanos’s gauntlet works?” 

Nebula nodded sharply, and the woman offered her a hand. “I’m Shuri. We’re trying to put together some kind of plan for if and when he shows back up again, do you have any interest?”

Nebula wanted to say no, to tell the woman, girl really, to go away so Nebula could sulk in private, but a voice in the back of her mind (her conscience or Gamora, it didn’t really matter) told her to go with Shuri, so she did. 

They came to a large conference room with a glowing table. Many people stood around it, Nebula recognized a handful of them, including the human Stark. He was currently gesturing to a holographic model of the Infinity Gauntlet.

“We need to get the stones pried out,” he finished.

“No, that won’t work,” Nebula said.

“And why not?” he shot back.

“As I’ve been telling you for the last six weeks, they are bonded at the atomic level to the gauntlet while it’s on his hand. You need to get it away from him, first.”

“We tried that, and you know it doesn’t work.”

“Ok, Stark,” a man put in, “let’s just listen to what she has to say.”

“It’s impossible to do that,” Nebula said. “He’ll never let you get close enough, you’d need to be wielding the power of an Infinity Stone just to get within range.”

She saw the woman appear again, a few feet behind Stark, an instant before she spoke. “You need to get the gauntlet off him? Or can his hand still be in it?”

Stark nearly jumped out of his skin, and whirled around. “Who are you?” 

“Carol,” the woman said distractedly, and then to Nebula, “I feel like it would be a lot easier to get the glove and the hand off at the same time.”

“Oh, absolutely,” Nebula said. “But how are you going to go about that?” 

“Carol? Who invited you?” 

“We did,” the man who had reprimanded Stark before put in. Nebula turned to look at him, dirty blonde hair and a beard. She was starting to like him. 

“We need a big enough distraction, and I need someone with a very large sharp weapon,” Carol said. 

“What kind of distraction were you thinking?” Shuri asked, stepping up to the table and pulling a wide array of holographic displays up. 

“If you want a big explosion, I could--” Stark started, but Nebula cut him off.

“I can think of a few things,” she said, and elaborated on the kinds of stunts that would draw the Titan’s attention back to Earth. 

“No, that’s not going to work, we need to--” Stark tried again.

“Hush, Tony,” a woman with short ice-blonde hair said. “Let the people who know what they’re talking about speak.”

Shuri was busy manipulating the holographics into something resembling the most feasible of Nebula’s suggestions. 

“Good,” Carol said. “You guys don’t happen to know anyone with a big sword or axe or something, do you?” 

A rustle of movement behind Nebula caught her attention, and she turned to see the Asgardian holding what was, indeed, a very large axe.

“Oh, that’ll work  _ beautifully _ ,” Carol said. “Cut it right off at the elbow, and then use that thing to hack the stones out?”

“It would be my  _ pleasure _ ,” the Asgardian said. 

“How can that get those stones out?” Tony asked. “I thought they were bonded at the atomic level.”

At least six pairs of eyes turned to regard Stark as if he were the smallest of children. 

“It’s a god-forged weapon, Tony,” the bearded man said. “It nearly killed Thanos the first time, I think it can get the stones out if Carol says it can.”

“Who is Carol? Can we trust her?” 

The bearded man (and several other people) give loud snorts. “You’re one to talk about trust. Of course we can trust her. Just because you came in in the middle of this plan doesn’t mean it didn’t have solid foundations.”

Stark opens his mouth to speak again, but Shuri is quicker. “So if we place charges  _ here _ and  _ here _ , we can trap the Outriders and keep them away.”

Nebula’s starting to like Shuri, too. The woman has a quick mind and a quicker wit.

“I have only one request,” Nebula said.

“And what’s that?” Carol asked.

“You let me kill him. And slowly.”

“You’ll have a whole line behind you,” Stark said.

Nebula was really starting to regret not eating him on the Milano. 

“And they’ll just have to wait,” Nebula said. 

And then their plan worked beautifully and Carol and Thor chopped off Thanos’ hand and pulled the infinity stones out of the gauntlet. Meanwhile, Goose consumed Thanos and then she slowly disgorged him so that Nebula could take her sweet time with the bastard. Nebula got to peel Thanos’ skin off his face very slowly and enjoyed every minute of it. They used the Soul Stone and Time Stone to bring back everyone who died during Thanos’ rampage plus Gamora (and all the Asgardians on the Ark but weirdly not Loki). And then everyone lived happily ever after. 

(Turns out Loki’s been masquerading as Thor’s cape the entire time)

**Author's Note:**

> @fireflyslove wherever you can find a gifset


End file.
